Sean and I have volunteered to teach next quarters Mens Class on Wednesdays. Any suggestions on material?

Here's a few pics from the other afternoon. One outside in the heat, and the other inside trying to cool off. We have tried to keep Benny out of the heat as much as possible, but we ended up walking around the yard a few evenings ago. I had to get something out of the truck, and check out our neighbors new deck. There are some bushes, and wood retaining walls where our backyards meet. Never wanting to miss a photo-op, I perched Benny on the retaining wall and proceeded to snap a few pics. Jim (our neighbor) walked over to warn me about the poison ivy. Since I am immune to it, I have never really given it consideration. He even had to show me what it looks like. To date: no breaking out or itching.

Check out todays post (The Cross And The Sword) on Mike's website (see right margin for link). He mentions and links a NY Times article on Christianity/Political issues that seem to be permeating the airwaves, radiowaves, and pulpits throughout the country. For whatever reason it struck me as being relevant today.

After a bit of thinking, reading this article reinforces to me the choices I have made in not paying much attention to Fox News, and the conservative radio talk shows. My wife sometimes gets frustrated at some of my political views, and politicians I would vote for (if the constitution would allow). Heck, I even think that Rep. John Murtha's comments about the overall military situation seems somewhat logical-from what I understand. Does this neccessarily make me a "bad" American or Christian? Of course my lines of thinking might be skewed, she also cringes when I refer to Barry Switzer as "The King". This line of thinking-in turn-makes me verry happy that football is just around the corner. One thing is for certain...I'm going to try and get tickets to the Sept 10th Broncos/Rams game. I'll be sporting Blue and Orange for this one. This can only mean one thing....My lovely (sporting-challenged) wife will feel compelled to foster family disharmony, and dress Benny in his Rams outfit. Come Oct 28th, Father and Son will unite, and be sporting our OU gear. It might even be fun to head out to Columbia for the game. I have lived in MO over half my life, and am still very apathetic to Mizzou athletics. I guess growing up, Norman, OK seemed alot closer than Columbia, MO...we'll that, and they pretty much have consistently stunk throughout the decades. And, No, I will not get into a Norm Stewart debate. He reminds me too much of Bobby Knight. I wouldn't want my kids playing for either.

I am finally back from a whirlwind climbing trip. After waking up at 3:30am on Thursday, Sean and I busted a move out to Denver. Once we arrived, it was great to visit with Harry/Marsha. That evening they hosted the youth group interns, and fed us some great fajitas. Before hitting the sack, I drove Sean to The Tattered Cover. This is one of the best bookstores in the country.

Friday morning we stopped by to see Jimmy G, before heading out for a quick peek at Red Rocks. We walked in through the back way, and promptly got kicked off the stage. Apparently some band called "311" doesn't take kindly to strangers walking around their amps, etc... Oh well, by this time, we were ready to hit the mtns. We hooked up with Landon and Brice at Leadville, and decided to eat a few hotdogs instead of breaking out the propane stove. Bad move. By the time we got back to our spot at Twin Lakes, more guys started showing up. I think there were probably 15-17. Of those, I believe 11 made the climb up Mt Massive Saturday morning.

During this climb, I learned a few things. First, I don't want to do that particular climb again. It was a 14-mile roundtripper, with roughly 4,500' elevation gain. Second, I will never again eat 2 big hotdogs, Pringles, and 2 peanut bars the night before a big climb. 14 miles of burping hotdogs isn't what I call fun. Third, when it comes to climbing, my Dad is king of the family. I felt all of 40 on this one. He was well into his 60's during his last climbs of Shavano and Elbert.

Despite these facts, I am supremely proud to having completed it. Last one up, Last one down! This was my distinction. The quickest group to summit took 3 hours. Sean and I huffed, puffed, wheezed, and summitted in a paltry 4:58. Our roundtrip turned out to to be 8 1/2 hours. We were beat, but not defeated. Once we got back to camp, we packed up and headed out. With no rooms available in Summit County, we decided to drive to the big metropolitan city of Arriba, CO. Our posh digs included a big, dead bug right next to my bed, and a scorpion that quickly lost his life to a hiking boot. The room wasn't that great, but hey, the lukewarm shower was awesome!

Here's a quick snapshot of our campsite, before the batteries died on me. I am expecting a summit photo from one of the guys, though.

Here's a few random pics from the past few days. Decker and Benny got along like 2 peas in a pod. It's times like this that make me realize how fortunate it was for me to grow up with my cousins.

Decker/Benny
Benny Holding Court With The Cousins
Kim/Benny

As I go back through the pictures we have taken this year, there are several of Benny eating fruit. Here is my latest contribution of this wierd photo essay.

A funny thing about Benny's personality is that sometimes he wakes up with a fixation on something. This might be a certain book, his pacifier, a specific toy....today was a bit different. He needed to have in his possesion 2 swim diapers. So G did what comes natural. Stuck one on his head, and took a picture!

We also had company Saturday night. Our friend Brian is Benny's "Big Brother". Brian dialed it in with his cow puppet routine.

We have family from GA in this weekend, so there should be more good pictures coming soon! My nephew is looking over colleges, and I feel old. In my mind, he should still be riding bikes with his buddies in Woodward.

On other notes, we had a great worship service this morning with Jerome Williams. Services ran "over" by probably 1/2 hour, but didn't even realize it.

40 Candles

Whoever suggested that Neosho and Thayer be matched up for a week together at Green Valley Bible Camp is to be commended.

In Junior High, I remember seeing this hot-shot basketball player from Thayer hoopin' it up on the cement slab halfcourt. Later on that week we bumped into each other at the dinner line. My perception before our introduction was that he was probably stuck up...being a 'baller with the highschoolers, and all. After we talked, those perceptions went out the window in a hurry. I actually liked this guy named Mark, We even laughed at the same stupid stuff.

As the camp sessions ticked through the years, we became steadfast friends. We even decided to become college roommies-complete with a fallback plan. If we didn't like OCC, we would backpack Europe, then go to SMSU. That was never an issue. We met other guys like Darrel, John, Todd, Barry, etc......and fell into a good groove, complete with a great college experience. We are all still good friends to this day, but that is for other posts.

This is a milestone year for most of us buddies (except Wib, who is "old plus 2"). More importantly, today is Mark's 40th birthday.

Here's a fond few moments that stick out in my mind over the past few decades:

Our first week in college.
Spilling Skoal juice on his head (he did manage to keep his cool, but I did pay for that many times during college-and until I managed to quit the habit.
Going to see Bruuuuce.
Going to Thayer and browsing through "the suitcase". These were his Dad's WWII momentos.
Going to Neosho and playing bball with Mark at the Rec Center. He spotted me 7 points, and still won 10-8.
All of our Colorado trips (Winter and Summer), and the creation of the now-defunct: Stumpers Mtn Club.
Bruuuce cruises.
That incident which will remain anon at Lake Hefner with Darrel and Barry.
That firecracker-under-the-car incident at Hafer Park which is not anon to a select few, and could have been life-threatening to us scrawny guys.
Mark getting married, with Cheech Marin officiating.
Mark skiing behind Wib's boat at Arcadia...waving to us...then promptly falling in the 6" deep nasty, muddy water.
Going to Normandy, and hearing Mark babble: "Parlay Voo, Uhhh, Hubba Hubba"
Mark stepping in dog poop in the Parisian park by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (See picture).
Sharing our WWII books/DVD's.
Meeting up with the Landes' at Laura's in NC, and playing with Zach.
The Duke game.

This list could go on and on.

Here's to my favorite "hairless executive", fellow WWII buff, and supreme Cards Fan.

I love you, maaaan.

Time is ticking. The mountains have been in my blood for a long time. Since I no longer live around them, I plan on climbing every year. Last year, myself and a group of friends trekked Mt Elbert in Colorado. This year, a bunch of us will congregate amongst the clouds and ascend Mt Massive. I am absolutely stoked.

Now in the "olden days", I lived to see, touch, smell, and experience the mountains themselves. To me, camping and climbing was almost like a junkie getting his fix. I guess mainly an obsession.

These days, the prize is in the journey. I am looking forward to driving I-70 with my friend Sean, and renewing some old acquaintences once we get to the campground. The icing is the view from the top.

I am actually in training while typing this (ie: carbo loading for the climb). There's nothing like a bowl full of White Cheddar Puffed Cheetos as a bedtime "training snack". Somehow I think this won't help too much during the climb. Like the view from the top...it sure is tasty!

This week we had some special friends stop by on their way back to Denver. Benny was excited to see "EXA" the dog, and Marsha (along with the rest of the family). They even took Benny to his first zoo outing. By all accounts, he was excited! I also had a nice conversation with my sweet friend, Gay. For several years she has been faithfully manning the phones, and keeping an eye out for my extended family at MWT. Thanks.

Brad, in case you are wondering about us slackers. We finally got everything notarized. Be expecting a packet soon! I apologize for taking so long.

Here are some random observations that have been stewing in my head.

1. Try microwaving greenbeans-take them out of the can first. They sure spark alot. I am guessing they have a high iron content.

2. Fill a house with a bunch of guys for a few days. There will still be toilet paper on the roll. Fill a house with a bunch of girls for a few days. There will be no toilet paper on the rolls, and there will be an abundance of toilet paper wadded up in the trash can! Why is this. Is it genetic?

What a great day for the park. Benny's reward for getting 3 shots at the Dr's office was a trip to the Des Peres park. I tell you..if you love parks, move to STL.

Hey Ed, put this on your calender: Aug 17th, at 1:10pm. Section 355, Row 4, Seats 5 & 6.